Hmmm when I think about it the love/hate Children of Men test should be used everywere.

Examples

Bankmanager: Did you like Children of Men
You: No
Bankmanager: Oh I'm sorry we can't forward you this new loan, oh and did i mention repomen are currently removing your car from your garage

Army Recruit: Welcome to the army son, you'll enjoy the reletive ease of Camp Comfortable Safeland for your 2 year sign-up where you can watch Children of Men over and Over.
You: I don't actually like that movie
Army Recruit: Oh......................did I say Camp Comfortable I meant Camp Slaughter and Pain over in Iraqiranistan.

And the most overrated film of all-time goes to...

Seriously, guys. WTF.

"OMG THIS MOVIE IS AMAZING, IT IS A GROUNDBREAKING FILM. I WISH THERE WAS A HIGHER GRADE THAN AN A+, I WOULD SO GIVE IT TO CoM."

Zingrage (TM). Guaranteed to give off 20% more energy then the next leading rage power supply.

No Zingaling kind of has a point

Scenario A: A group of people that really love a movie, they talk about it for months, they quote it, they praise it, and it's all great. Name for this? Passionate fanbase. Yay!

Scenario B: A group of people insisting that if you don't give the film a perfect mark, you don't 'get' cinema, and you are an unworthy person and film watcher. Name for this grouping? Batshit cult and/or Let's meet up and chop some fucking heads off in the name of Children of Men! fanbase.

No but seriously, the 'If you don't love this movie you don't understand film' argument in treading in baumer's trademark LOTR loonie levels.

You guys are nuts

But I love you

If you dont give CoM a perfect grade, then you're pretty much a rapist... it's that simple.

PM me, I can help you out...

(BTW, I'm not going to be able to make it to this week's head chopping off meeting due to a dentist appointment. Can somebody ask Snrub to chop a couple extra for me? Thanx in advance. See y'all next week...)

From my point of view, I think it's a case of: "If you don't love this movie then you and I have clearly been going to the cinema expecting or wanting two completely different things, so we're unlikely to have helpful discussions about which films are 'good' and which are 'bad', since we're operating from completely different viewpoints."

Have you ever had one of those arguments about politics or current affairs, where it goes on for hours and hours and you get more and more frustrated that you can't make the other guy see how obvious the right answer is, and then you finally seize on a reductio ad absurdem argument that you think will clinch it? "Hang on a second," you go. "You've been saying A and B - right? Well, if A and B are true, then X, Y, and (god help us) even Z must be true!" - where, of course, X, Y, and Z are unthinkable and ridiculous. But sometimes, the other guy just turns round and goes, "Oh, yeah, totally - X, Y, and Z are sound logic, I love that stuff." At which point, the argument usually grinds to a halt because you realise that you're not just disagreeing over twiddly little details - you're actually on completely different planets; you build your opinions from different foundations - you have different ideas about the most basic issues of right and wrong.

Well, Children of Men could do exactly the same for me if the disussion was about cinema, rather than ethics. If I was arguing over films, and I found out that some guy disagreed with me on a number of different movies, then I might try to persuade him by reminding him og specific scenes or selling particular strong points... but if he or she had seen Children of Men and casually went, "Oh, yeah, I thought that was over-rated" then I'd prob'ly run out of steam completely, and think, "Ah, that's the problem - we just aren't looking for the same thing at all." I really rate the film that highly. I wouldn't think that the other guy didn't "get" cinema, I'd just realise that him and I prob'ly didn't share much common ground on the subject.

It's like, say two Christians are discussing some nicety of the New Testament, and the first one can't understand why the second one is disagreeing with everything he says. After a while, the second Christian goes, "What? Oh, no - I think there's been some misunderstanding - I'm actually a Jew..."

CHILDREN OF MEN - 8/10 (B+)

It was really good. A sad, depressing movie.

It is an amazingly original and brilliant film, but not as great as all of you are making it out to be. Now that i have seen it, i do believe that the biggest mistake of this year's Oscars was not giving cinimetogrpahy to it. The camera work was sensational and probably the best "filmed" film i have ever seen. All and all though i should the story was too simple and that there could have been more character development and less action. Definitly a must see though!

B

It's been what? Months? And I'm still deeply moved by the film.


In all honesty, this is easily one of the most moving film experiences I've ever had.

Box has spoken.

I can't wait to see this again. I'm too cheap to buy DVDs anymore (Especially with Netflix), but I might make an exception here. Either way, this is at the top of my queue and ready to arrive on Tuesday. Whoo.

I think my love for the film has...subsided. Greatly.

It now isn't in my top three of the year (Pan's Labyrinth, The Fountain, Little Miss Sunshine)...

puuushover

this movie is still sort of wonderful.

I think everyone should just come clean and admit that when they went to see Children of Men, Snrub or loyal was pointing a gun to their head and forced them to like it. LITERALLY.

We can get Tony to arrange some restraining orders, guys. Don't worry.

Well i'm one person who was gun free since i saw it on the first day of release back in September so no dice Zing.

A brilliant, cold look at the future. Not one I want to see again, though. A

Aye, as much of a supporter of this film I've been, I originally saw it cold without really knowing that much about it beforehand and was completely struck back by its brilliance.

I'm a fan of the Dr Jam school of thought on this one. If you see it - with hype or without - and come out of it with anything but sheer awe of its achievement as a piece of cinema, then you're just someone I don't want to - nay, can't - discuss film with.

This is truer than ever after a second viewing of one of the decade's few masterpieces.

I love this movie so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.

Cauron directed the SHIT out of this movie. The direction was not only the most significant and stark part of the production, but also one of the best cases of direction I can remember in recent memory. No matter what greatness or shortcomings it has in my eyes, I think I will always remember it for Cauron's incredible camera work.

That said, I'm in the "emotionally detached" group, or whatever. I had a long day; perhaps I'm merely tired. I don't think that's the case. I actually liked how some information about the world was intentionally left omitted. How the infertility actually started and why, as well as the rapid decay of the entire world is unclear, and I liked that a lot. It's just the characters of Kee and Theo just couldn't relate to me in any real way. They seemed to flat and transparent. Particularly Kee.

Part of it may have simply been me falling victim to overhype syndrome. I don't think so, though; being as tired as I was, the only thing that kept me watching the movie was the fact that it was so acclaimed. I was expecting it to pick up. The action scenes certainly kept my blood pumping, but as for it's emotional weight and the awe that most others seemed to have experienced, I'm left wanting. Were it not for Cauron's magic, I might not even have this above a C.

B

The movie had explosions and boobies.

I'm going to watch this tonight. I'm excited to finally be able to understand the hype on this site in regards to this movie....

You should prepare yourself for what is bound to be one of the greatest film experiences you've had. It is a very touching film.

Now that all the boys' cum over the movie has been cleaned off the floor, it's good but not THAT good. lol

Since so much of the great stuff has already been commented on, i'll point out the bad:

- the cease fire over the baby. This scene ruined the movie for me and everything that happened afterwards just pissed me off. Um, yeah, like, that was a baby you were all just gushing over. Um, maybe someone wants to take the baby and mom into custody, and THEN resume fighting? and the ending! ugh. i hate movies that end abruptly with no resolution. it killed babel. it killed volver. and it killed CoM.

- the Uprising. um ok. whatever.

- subtleness. it's nice. but when everything is subtle it stops being subtle. Theo's relationship with animals. the boat. the baby. war. race. etc etc. I get it. there's a lot of "depth" now focus on one thing and deliver it.

i don't see myself watching this again any time soon..

I'm giving it a B.